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ONE  HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY  COPIES  PRINTED. 
No. 


THE    WISH. 


THE     WISH; 

WRITTEN    BY    DR.   WALTER    POPE, 

FELLOW  OF  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY. 


REPRINTED    FROM    THE    FIRST    EDITION, 

WITH   A   SHORT    LIFE    OF   THE   AUTHOR   BY    MR. 

BEVERLY    CHEW. 


PRINTED  BY  F.  HOPKINS, 

ON  THE  MARION  PRESS,  JAMAICA,  LONG  ISLAND. 
MDCCCXCVII. 


Copyright,  1897,  by  F.  HOPKINS. 


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THE    WISH. 

little  poem   here   reprinted   for 
the  first  time  in  many  years  seems 

t0 


?      '        editors  of  the  numerous  collections 


an  to  e  com- 
paratively unknown  to  readers  of  this  generation. 
It  was  first  printed  two  hundred  years  ago,  in  1697, 
and  passed  through  several  editions,  the  third  ap- 
pearing in  1710. 

The  title  of  the  first  edition  is  given  herewith  in 
facsimile.  It  seems  to  have  been  changed  to  "The 
Old  Man's  Wish  "  in  subsequent  editions,  and  is 
so  quoted  by  Benjamin  Franklin  in  a  letter  to  be 
given  later. 

7 


8  The  Wish. 

Dr.  Walter  Pope,  the  author  of  the  poem,  was  a 
native  of  Northamptonshire,  and  was  no  relation, 
so  far  as  known,  to  the  younger  and  more  celebrated 
poet  of  the  same  family  name.  His  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  the  Puritan  divine  John  Dod,  and  John 
Wilkins,  afterward  Bishop  of  Chester,  was  his  half- 
brother. 

He  was  graduated  from  Wadham  College,  Oxford, 
in  1649, —  having  first  entered  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge,—  and  was  admitted  to  a  fellowship  in  1651. 
After  holding  several  offices  in  the  University  of 
Oxford  he  succeeded  Sir  Christopher  Wren  as  pro- 
fessor of  Astronomy  in  Gresham  College  in  1660. 
In  the  following  year  he  was  elected  Dean  of  Wad- 
ham  College,  and  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  University. 

He  traveled  extensively  abroad,  and  was  master 
of  the  French,  Italian,  and  Spanish  languages,  which 
in  turn  he  taught  to  his  half-brother  Wilkins.  On 
Wilkins's  elevation  to  the  see  of  Chester  he  ap- 
pointed Pope  registrar  of  the  diocese,  a  position 
which  he  held  until  his  death.  In  1687  ne  resigned 
his  professorship,  and  retired  to  Epsom,  probably 


The  Wish.  9 

owing  to  a  severe  inflammation  of  the  eyes  from 
which  he  suffered  in  the  preceding  year. 

On  the  1 6th  of  November,  1693,  he  met  with  a 
severe  calamity  in  the  loss  of  all  his  books  in  a  fire 
in  Lombard  Street.  His  later  years  were  passed  in 
Bunhill  Fields,  London,  where  he  died  at  a  very 
advanced  age  on  the  25th  of  June,  1714,  and  was 
buried  in  St.  Giles's,  Cripplegate. 

Anthony  a  Wood  was  rather  severe  in  his  criti- 
cisms of  Dr.  Pope,  and  accused  him  of  leading 
"  a  heathenish  and  epicurean  life "  ;  but  we  know 
that  this  opinion  was  not  held  by  many  distin- 
guished men,  notably  Dr.  Seth  Ward,  with  whom 
he  lived  many  years,  and  who  made  him  an  allow- 
ance, or  pension,  of  ^100  a  year.  Wood's  opinion 
of  Dr.  Pope's  writings  was  naturally  colored  by  his 
unfavorable  view  of  his  life,  and  he  called  them 
"frivolous  things  rather  fit  to  be  buried  in  oblivion 
with  the  author  than  to  be  remembered." 

In  addition  to  "  The  Wish,"  Dr.  Pope  wrote 
"Memoirs  of  M.  Du  Vail,"  London,  1670,  and 
"To  the  Memory  of  the  Most  Renowned  DuVall," 
a  Pindaric  ode,  1671, —  the  person  ironically  cele- 


io  The  Wish. 

brated  therein  was  Claude  Duval  the  highwayman, — 
"Select  Novels  from  Cervantes  and  Petrarch," 
London,  1674,  and  "Moral  and  Political  Fables," 
London,  1698. 

Whatever  may  be  the  value  of  Anthony  &  Wood's 
low  estimate  of  Dr.  Pope's  writings,  it  is  certain 
that  no  less  a  person  than  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin 
had  a  very  high  opinion  of  "  The  Wish,"  as  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  to  George  Whately 
dated  Passy,  23 d  May,  1785,  shows.t 

<I  like  better  the  concluding  sentiment  in  the  old 
song  called  "  The  Old  Man's  Wish,"  wherein,  after 
wishing  for  a  warm  house  in  a  country  town,  an  easy 
horse,  some  good  authors,  ingenious  and  cheerful 
companions,  a  pudding  on  Sundays,  with  stout  ale 
and  a  bottle  of  Burgundy,  etc.,  etc.,  in  separate  stanzas 
each  ending  with  this  burthen, 

"  May  I  govern  my  passions  with  absolute  sway, 
Grow  wiser  and  better  as  my  strength  wears  away, 
Without  gout  or  stone,  by  a  gentle  decay," 


The  Complete  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin,"  compiled  and  edited  by 
John  Bigelow,  New  York,  Putnam,  1888,  vol.  ix,  p.  113. 


fbe  Wish.  ii 

he  adds : 

"  With  a  courage  undaunted  may  I  face  the  last  day, 
And,  when  I  am  gone,  may  the  better  sort  say : 

cln  the  morning  when  sober,  in  the  evening  when 

mellow, 
He 's  gone,  and  has  not  left  behind  him  his  fellow ; 

For  he  governed  his  passions/  etc." 

'But  what  signifies  our  wishing?  Things  happen, 
after  all,  as  they  will  happen.  I  have  sung  that  wish- 
ing song  a  thousand  times  when  I  was  young,  and 
now  find  at  fourscore  that  the  three  contraries  have 
befallen  me, —  being  subject  to  the  gout  and  the 
stone,  and  not  being  yet  master  of  all  my  passions/ 

Joseph  Ritson,  in  "  A  Select  Collection  of  English 
Songs,"  three  volumes,  London,  1783,  gives  "The 
Old  Man's  Wish"  as  Song  xxvm  of  the  second 
volume,  but  prints  only  the  first,  third,  fourth,  fifth, 
and  seventeenth  stanzas,  together  with  the  chorus, 
which  is  altered  after  the  last  stanza  as  follows. 

1  For  he  governed  his  passion  with  an  absolute  sway, 
And  grew  wiser  and  better  as  his  strength  wore  away, 
Without  gout  or  stone,  by  a  gentle  decay/ 


12  The  Wisb. 

Mr.  Ritson  adds  a  footnote  that  throws  some  light 
upon  the  date  of  composition  of  the  poem,  which, 
if  he  is  correct,  must  have  been  during  the  earlier 
years  of  Dr.  Pope's  life. 

£The  author  republished  this  song  in  his  old  age, 
with  large  additions,  and  a  number  of  whimsical 
notes,  and  illustrations  from  the  Roman,  Italian,  and 
German  poets.  None  of  his  supplemental  stanzas 
were  thought  properly  adapted  to  the  present  publi- 
cation, but  all  the  corrections  and  alterations  he  has 
made  in  the  original  verses  have  been  carefully  re- 
tained; except  only  as  to  the  last  chorus,  which  does 
not  in  his  enlarged  copy  differ  from  the  first/ 

However,  the  verses  certainly  have  sufficient  merit 
to  warrant  this  reprint,  both  from  a  metrical  and 
from  a  philosophical  point  of  view,  and  it  is  easy  to 
understand  why  honest  old  Ben  Franklin  confesses 
to  have  "  sung  that  wishing  song  a  thousand  times." 
The  sentiment  may  be  "  epicurean," —  and  thus  give 
some  shadow  of  excuse  for  the  estimate  of  the 
author's  life  in  the  "Athenae  Oxonienses," — but  no 
more  perhaps  than  might  be  expected  from  one  who 


The  Wish.  13 

had  survived  two  Revolutions,  and  who  looked  for- 
ward to  an  old  age  of  peace  and  quiet. 

The  music  for  "The  Wish,"  given  by  Ritson  in 
his  third  volume,  is  by  the  celebrated  composer  Dr. 
John  Blow,  (1648-1708,)  for  many  years  organist 
of  Westminster  Abbey,  and  master  of  the  still  better 
known  Henry  Purcell,  his  successor.  In  case  any  of 
the  readers  of  this  reprint  desire  to  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  sing  "The  Old 
Man's  Wish,"  they  are  here  afforded  an  opportunity, 
and  "apt  notes  to  sing  withal." 

It  remains  only  to  say  that  in  this  reprint  the 
learned  commentary  in  which  the  author  embedded 
his  verses  has  been  omitted  as  of  little  or  no  interest 
to  the  modern  reader. 

BEVERLY  CHEW. 

NEW  YORK,  February,  1897. 

*Jk 


THE 


W  I  S 


Written  by  Dr.  TOTE  Feliow  of  the 
ROYAL    SOCIETY. 


fails  eft  ware  fowm,    Hor. 

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hiti*  foter'mt  regales  addere  majus.  Id. 


L  0  $    T>  0 


Printed  in  the  Year  MDCXGVIL 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  CHARLES  LORD 
CLIFFORD,  GRANDSON  AND  HEIR  TO  RICHARD 
E.  OF  BURLINGTON  AND  CORK,  AND  ONE  OF 
THE  GENTLEMEN  OF  HIS  MAJESTY'S  BED- 
CHAMBER. 

My  Lord, 

The  Honour  and  Respect  which  I  had  for  your  Lordships 
Father,  is  not  wholly  unknown  to  you ;  as  also,  with  what  Conde- 
scention,  Familiarity,  and  Kindness,  he  always  used  me.  I  own, 
those  Days  which  I  spent  in  his  Lordship's  Conversation  in  France, 
were  without  Comparison,  the  very  best  Part  of  my  Life.  I  design' d 
to  have  made  my  Gratitude  Public ;  and  to  that  End,  Composed  a 
small  Treatise,  and  Dedicated  it  to  him,  which  he  not  only  saw,  but 
was  also  pleased  graciously  to  accept :  But  before  I  could  get  it 
Printed,  he  died,  to  the  great  Loss  of  the  Public,  and  all  good  Men ; 
but  to  none  so  much  as  me,  for  my  Dammage  is  irreparable,  unless 
your  Lordship  succeeds  him  in  his  Favour  to  me,  as  you  do  in  his 
Honour  and  Vertues,  which  I  hope,  but  dare  not  expect. 

I  humbly  present  your  Lordship  with  this  Copy  of  Verses,  an 
Earnest  of  something  of  a  greater  Bulk,  but  I  dare  not  say  of  a 
better  Composition  ;  for  if  the  Approbation  of  my  Friends,  has  not 
imposed  upon  my  Credulity,  and  my  Taste  does  not  deceive  me, 
this  is  the  most  kindly,  and  palatable  Fruit,  that  ever  my  Cultivation 
has  produc'd:  I  wish  it  were  worthy  your  Acceptation;  however, 
I  hope,  I  am  excusable,  having  offer' d  to  your  Lordship  the  best  of 
my  Substance.  I  conclude,  begging  pardon  for  my  Presumption, 
and  praying  Heaven  to  continue,  and  increase  the  Felicities  of  your 
noble  Family.  I  am,  my  Lord,  your  Lordship's  most  humble,  and 
obedient  Servant  W.  POPE. 


THE    PROLOGUE    TO    THE    WISH; 

Being  a  Parafrase  on  these  Verses  of  Horace. 

Quid  dedicatum  poscit  Apollinem 
Fates,  quid  or  at?    de  patera  novum 
Fundens  Liquorem? 

Hor.  Ode  31,  Lib.  I. 

Me  quoties  reficit  gelidus  Digentia  Rivus, 
Quern  Mandela  bibit,  Rugosus  frigore  Pagus. 
Quid  s  entire  put  as?    Quid  credis  Amice  precari? 

Id.  Ep.  1 8,  Lib.  i. 

That  is, 

When  Poets  offering  at  Apollo  §  Shrine, 
Out  of  the  sacred  Goblets  pour  new  Wine, 
What  do  they  wish?    what  do  they  then  desire? 

When  I'm  at  Epsom,  or  on  Bans  ted-Down, 
Free  from  the  Wine,  and  Smoak,  and  Noise  o'th'  Town, 
When  I  those  Waters  drink,  and  breath  that  Air, 
What  are  my  Thoughts?    what's  my  continual  Prayer? 


Song  XXVTJI. — If  I  live  to  grow  old,  as  J  Jind  1  go  down. 

Pope. 
Set  by  Dr.  Blow. 


If     I      live       to  grow  old,      as      I       find     I     go 


down,  Let    this     be     my  fate:  in       a  coun— - -try 


town,  May  I    have    a   warm  house  with  a  stone     at      my 


gate,  A  ad  a    clean- (y  young    girl    to    rub    my  bald  pate  ; 
CHORUS. 


May     I       go-vern    my  passion,  with    an       ab— so— lute 


sway,  And  grow  wiser  and  better    as  my  strength  wears  a 


FT* 


way,  Without  gout    or     stone,  Without    gout  or  stone,  by    a 


gen-tie    de— cay,      by  a     gen —    —  —    —    —    — 


m  y^    j—         | 


—    tie  de— cay. 


#++* 

rVci  '*fe  !&^g&gfe?fo^<^^^^efo^^^^^<fe^gfo^^fe<^gfo^ 


THE    WISH. 


i. 

IF  I  live  to  be  Old,  for  I  find  I  go  down, 
Let  this  be  my  Fate.     In  a  Country  Town, 
May  I  have  a  warm  House,  with  a  Stone  at  the  Gate, 
And  a  cleanly  young  Girl,  to  rub  my  bald  Pate. 


CHORUS. 

May  I  govern  my  Passion  with  an  absolute  Sway, 

And  grow  Wiser,  and  Better,  as  my  Strength  wears  away, 

Without  Gout,  or  Stone,  by  a  gentle  decay. 


22  The  Wish. 

II. 

May  my  little  House  stand  on  the  Side  of  a  Hill, 
With  an  easy  Descent,  to  a  Mead,  and  a  Mill, 
That  when  I've  a  mind,  I  may  hear  my  Boy  read, 
In  the  Mill,  if  it  rains,  if  it's  dry,  in  the  Mead. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

III. 

Near  a  shady  Grove,  and  a  murmuring  Brook, 
With  the  Ocean  at  Distance,  whereon  I  may  look, 
With  a  spacious  Plain,  without  Hedge  or  Stile, 
And  an  easy  Pad-Nag,  to  ride  out  a  Mile. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

IV. 

With  Horace  and  Petrarch,  and  Two  or  Three  more 
Of  the  best  Wits  in  the  Ages  before, 
With  roast  Mutton,  rather  than  Ven'son  or  Teal, 
And  clean,  tho'  course  Linnen  at  every  Meal. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 


fbe  Wish.  23 

V. 

With  a  Pudding  on  Sundays,  with  stout  humming  Liquor, 
And  Remnants  of  Latin  to  welcome  the  Vicar, 
With  Mont e-Fias cone  or  Burgundy  Wine 
To  drink  the  Kings  Health  as  oft  as  I  dine. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

VI. 

May  my  Wine  be  Vermillion,  may  my  Malt-drink  be  pale, 
In  neither  extream,  or  too  mild  or  too  stale. 
In  lieu  of  Deserts,  Unwholsome  and  Dear, 
Let  Lodi  or  Parmisan  bring  up  the  Rear. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

VII. 

Nor  Tory,  or  Wig,  Observator  or  Trimmer 
May  I  be,  nor  against  the  Laws  torrent  a  Swimmer. 
May  I   mind  what  I  speak,  what  I  write,  and  hear  read, 
But  with  matters  of  State  ne'er  trouble  my  Head. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 


24  The  Wish. 

i 

VIII. 

Let  the  Gods  who  dispose  of  every  Kings  Crown, 
Whomsoever  they  please,  set  up  and  pull  down. 
He  pay  the  whole  Shilling  impos'd  on  my  Head, 
Tho  I  go  without  Claret  that  Night  to  my  Bed. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

IX. 

I'll  bleed  without  grumbling,  tho'  that  Tax  should  appear 
As  oft  as  New  Moons,  or  Weeks  in  a  Year, 
For  why  should  I  let  a  seditious  Word  fall  ? 
Since  my  Lands  in   Utopia  pay  nothing  at  all. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

X. 

Tho'  I  care  not  for  Riches,  may  I  not  be  so  poor, 
That  the  Rich  without  shame  cannot  enter  my  Door, 
May  they  court  my  converse,  may  they  take  much  delight, 
My  old  Stories  to  hear  in  a  Winters  long  Night. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 


The  Wish.  25 

XI. 

My  small  stock  of  Wit  may  I  not  misapply, 
To  flatter  ill  men  be  they  never  so  high, 
Nor  mispend  the  few  Moments  I  steal  from  the  Grave, 
In  fawning,  or  cringing,  like  a  Dog  or  a  Slave. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

XII. 

May  none  whom  I  love,  to  so  great  Riches  rise 
As  to  slight  their  Acquaintance,  and  old  Friends  despise. 
So  Low,  or  so  High,  may  none  of  them  be, 
As  to  move  either  Pity,  or  Envy  in  me. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

XIII. 

A  Friendship  I  wish  for,  but  alas  tis  in  vain, 
Joves  Store-House  is  empty  and  can't  it  supply, 
So  firm,  that  no  change  of  Times,  Envy,  or  Gain, 
Or  Flattr'y,  or  Woman,  should  have  Pow'r  to  unty. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

4 


26  The  Wish. 

XIV. 

But  if  Friends  prove  unfaithful,  and  Fortune  a  Whore, 
Still  may  I  be  Virtuous,  though  I  am  Poor, 
My  life  then,  as  useless,  may  I  freely  resign, 
When  no  longer  I  relish,  true  Wit,  and  good  Wine. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

XV. 

To  out  live  my  Senses  may  it  not  be  my  Fate, 
To  be  blind,  to  be  deaf,  to  know  nothing  at  all, 
But  rather  let  Death  come  before  'tis  so  late, 
And  while  there's  some  Sap  in  it,  may  my  Tree  fall. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

XVI. 

I  hope  I  shall  have  no  occasion  to  send 
For  Priests,  or  Fysicians,  till  I  am  so  near  mine  End 
That  I  have  eat  all  my  Bread,  and  drunk  my  last  Glass, 
Let  them  come  then,  and  set  their  Seals  to  my  Pass. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 


<fbe  Wish.  27 

XVII. 

With  a  Courage  undaunted,  may  I  face  my  last  Day, 
And  when  I  am  dead  may  the  better  sort  say, 
In  the  Morning,  when  sober,  in  the  Evening,  when  mellow, 
He's  gone,  and  left  not  behind  him  his  Fellow. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

XVIII. 

Without  any  Noise  when  I've  pass'd  o'r  the  Stage, 
And  decently  acted  what  part  Fortune  gave, 
And  put  off  my  Vests  in  a  chearful  Old  Age, 
May  a  few  honest  Fellows  see  me  laid  in  my  Grave. 
May  I  govern,  &c. 

XIX. 

I  care  not  whether  under  a  Turf,  or  a  Stone, 
With  any  Inscription  upon  it,  or  none, 
If  a  Thousand  Years  hence,  Here  lies  W.  P. 
Shall  be  read  on  my  Tomb,  what  is  it  to  me  ? 
May  I  govern,  &c. 


28  The  Wish. 

XX. 

Yet  one  Wish  I  add,  for  the  sake  of  those  Few 
Who  in  reading  these  Lines  any  Pleasure  shall  take, 
May  I  leave  a  good  Fame,  and  a  sweet  smelling  Name. 
AMEN.    Here  an  End  of  my  WISHES  I  make. 

CHORUS. 

May  I  govern  my  Passion  with  an  absolute  Sway, 

And  grow  Wiser,  and  Better,  as  my  Strength  wears  away, 

Without  Gout,  or  Stone,  by  a  gentle  Decay. 


M523966 


B 


I 


